Chapter 657 - 657: Netherworld Taoist and Pig King
The matter of the orphanage had always been Ye Qing's greatest concern. However, as much as he worried, he couldn't influence the thoughts of those senior leaders in the province. So, all he could do now was pray that these leaders would think more about the children rather than shirking responsibility and blindly sending them to public orphanages.
While chatting idly in the office, Black Bear suddenly knocked and entered, saying to Ye Qing, "Captain, Old Wang Ba is back!"
"Damn!" Ye Qing cursed instantly, standing up and saying, "This old guy, he knows to come back, huh!?"
These past few days, Ye Qing had been worrying about the Killing Gate's conflict with the Shen Family. Although he had no idea what those people's true intentions were, he was quite sure that they were instigating a feud between the Killing Gate and the Shen Family, wanting them to clash. Hence, he was eager to find the folks at the teahouse and warn them not to fall for it.
But during these two days, it seemed like the people from the teahouse had vanished. Cui Yu had left Shenchuan City with several masters, unreachable by phone, and Hu Momo, White Impermanence, and the others were also nowhere to be found, even Ye Qing couldn't locate them. It seemed Cui Yu had also been worried about their safety, so he had specially arranged a safe hiding place for them.
Ye Qing knew that Old Wang Ba must know a lot, so he was desperate to find him and get some questions answered. But this old guy, when not needed, would hang around you all day. Yet, when needed, he would suddenly disappear, making Ye Qing's teeth itch with irritation.
Now that this old guy had suddenly come back, Ye Qing didn't hesitate and ran out, fearing that the old guy might run away again.
"Where? Where? Take me to him!" Ye Qing shouted loudly, very anxious, ready to make Old Wang Ba contact Cui Yu and the others immediately.
"In the front private room," Black Bear led Ye Qing while speaking, "He also brought a… a Taoist and a fatty. The three of them picked a private room, ordered lots of good liquor and fruit platters, and called a lot of girls..."
Ye Qing stared and asked, "Did you serve him?"
"No!" Black Bear said straightforwardly: "This old guy just scams people; the stuff he orders is too expensive, I didn't bring any of it!"
"That's right!" Ye Qing replied crisply; he was still grateful to Old Wang Ba. But for some reason, every time he thought of that sleazy face, his teeth itched with hatred, and his gratitude turned into annoyance.
Approaching the private room, Ye Qing could hear a loud voice from inside, "What is this crap? What kind of shithole is this? No proper fruit in the fruit platter, no decent liquor, what the hell have you served? Is this meant for feeding dogs? And this Wahaha bottled water? Do you think I'm still a child? What's this, half a bottle? What's the meaning of half a bottle? You want me to learn how to drink like a crow? Adding stones to raise the water level, what the hell? Trying to fool me with this crap, believe it or not, I can blast you away with a bomb! What are you looking at? I'm talking about you, you done showing off? Bloody useless crap!"
Hearing this cursing, Ye Qing couldn't even get angry—the man cursing had a heavy Northeastern accent, which made the cursing sound more humorous than infuriating. Nonetheless, Ye Qing was puzzled; since when did Old Wang Ba make such a hotheaded friend?
Entering the private room, Ye Qing realized there were no waiters inside. Old Wang Ba was sitting in the middle, sleazy as ever, with his unchanged middle-parted hairstyle. To his right was a man who looked almost as sleazy, with a Taoist's topknot. The one who had been cursing was this man, still puffing his cheeks, pointing at a bottle on the table and continuing his tirade, oblivious to anyone entering.
To the left of Old Wang Ba sat a fat man. How should one describe his weight? Well, he fit just right into a two-seater sofa by himself, comfortably. His weight must have been at least above two hundred and fifty pounds, making him an extremely rare kind of fatty. However, his demeanor was much more amicable, always wearing a giggly smile, contrasting sharply with the two sleazy men beside him.
Seeing the Taoist intensely criticizing the bottle of water, Ye Qing chuckled inwardly. He coughed, covering his mouth; only then did the Taoist realize someone had entered and abruptly turned his head, his expression clearly embarrassed. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, but ultimately said nothing.
"Eighth Master, is this your friend?" Ye Qing still showed respect to Old Wang Ba, smiling, "Sorry, we're not officially open yet. Our waiters are busy in the back, and we apologize for any shortcomings in service!"
"No problem!" Old Wang Ba waved magnanimously, saying, "I told him that the owner of this place is too stingy. When we come here, there's hardly anything to eat. So, I let him practice a bit, and if they really don't serve us later, we won't be polite then!"
Ye Qing wasn't really planning to serve Old Wang Ba, this sleazy old guy, but after hearing what he just said, and having just heard the Taoist cursing, he now really felt embarrassed not to serve anything. He signaled to Black Bear, who quickly went to fetch some stuff to bring over.
Looking at the stuff on the table, Old Wang Ba immediately told the Taoist, "See, I told you, rant a bit and the stuff will definitely come. So, your method is no good. You still have to follow my lead!"
Ye Qing's teeth itched with hatred, Old Wang Ba was really cunning, it seemed the Taoist's cursing earlier was intentionally meant for him to hear. This move got them their food and drinks indeed.
Ye Qing didn't really care how much Old Wang Ba ate, but for some reason, seeing Old Wang Ba's sleazy face made him want to kick him out of his place, as if this guy's presence could affect the business. There was no helping it; whoever saw Old Wang Ba's face without punching him already had great restraint!
Watching the three people drink a bottle of expensive wine worth over two thousand like it was soda, Ye Qing finally managed to suppress the urge to punch Old Wang Ba and said, "Eighth Master, where have you been these past few days? I needed to find you, but I couldn't get through to your phone at all."
Old Wang Ba said, "I turned off my phone, ah!"
Ye Qing said anxiously, "Why turn it off when I needed you for something urgent!"
"Damn, what difference would it make if I hadn't turned it off?" Old Wang Ba shrugged and said, "Cui Yu purposely turned off his phone because he didn't want anyone to contact him. Even if you were trying to reach him through me, I couldn't contact him either!"
Hearing this, Ye Qing was startled. Before he could speak, Old Wang Ba already guessed that he wanted to reach Cui Yu through him. Ye Qing couldn't help but size Old Wang Ba up and down, silently wondering whether the old guy could really read other people's minds or if he was just making wild guesses.
"Eighth Master, do you know what's going on with Cui Yu?" Ye Qing furrowed his brows and asked.
Old Wang Ba said with a smug face, "Of course, I do!"
"What exactly happened?" Ye Qing asked anxiously, "Do you know who killed Uncle Tie?"
Old Wang Ba shrugged and said, "The secrets of heaven must not be revealed; I cannot speak of these matters!"
"Damn it!" Ye Qing almost kicked Old Wang Ba in the face as he glared and said, "Why spout so much nonsense when I just asked you to speak?"
"What I'm saying is true!" Old Wang Ba said, "We fortune-tellers, there are many things we might see but cannot speak of. Once spoken, they might change many things, and there's a price to be paid."
"You're just talking nonsense!" Ye Qing said irritably. The fortune-tellers in the streets always say that, and next they'll be scamming for money.
"Heh heh…" Old Wang Ba smirked perversely and said, "I knew you'd call me a scammer when I said that. But it's too late to say anything now; the Killing Gate has already started fighting the Xihang Shen Family, you're too late to stop it!"
"They've started fighting?" Ye Qing furrowed his brow. Weren't the people from the Xihang Shen Family not yet in Shenchuan City? How had the fighting started already?
"Moreover, a few from the Shen Family have already died," Old Wang Ba said. "With the arrogant nature of the Xihang Shen Family, they certainly won't let this go. This time, even if you could persuade the people from the Killing Gate not to fight, the Shen Family would definitely not let them off!"
Ye Qing fell silent for a while then looked at Old Wang Ba and asked, "Did you already know they would end up fighting, and do you know exactly what happened?"
"Don't wrong me," Old Wang Ba quickly denied, then continued, "I was just talking off the cuff; how could I know much? But I can tell you that the conflict between the Shen Family and Killing Gate was inevitable. The Shen Family owes Killing Gate so many lives from the past; eventually, a price must be paid."
"What exactly is going on between the Killing Gate and the Shen Family?" inquired Ye Qing.
Old Wang Ba smiled and said, "That's other people's business; you shouldn't bother with it. You should focus on your own matters. Come, let me introduce you to two friends."
Old Wang Ba stretched out his hand toward the Taoist beside him who was stuffing bananas into his mouth and said, "This old Taoist with the impressive nose, his Taoist name is Huangquan, known as Netherworld Taoist. This fatso here goes by the nickname Pig King. It's their first time in Shenchuan City; mind showing them around?"
If members of the Killing Gate were here, they would be utterly invigorated. Because the Netherworld Taoist and Pig King were the last two of the Killing Gate Seven Hidden. Along with Cui Yu, Netherworld Scholar, Black Asura, Demon Queen He Qinghua, and Ghost King Li Ruoyuan, the Killing Gate Seven Hidden were finally all assembled, ready for a definitive battle with the Shen Family!
However, Ye Qing had no idea of their identities; he merely thought their names were somewhat peculiar. He had Black Bear arrange accommodations for the two, while he stayed behind, ready to thoroughly interrogate Old Wang Ba.
But Old Wang Ba, the old rascal, was even more straightforward. Seeing that Ye Qing had sent everyone else away, he immediately picked up the wine bottle on the table, downed the entire bottle of wine, and then collapsed to the ground drunkenly, giving Ye Qing no chance to speak.